Each year, nearly 3,000 to 4,000 referees go through evaluations by the NBA’s scouting department, yet only a select few advance to the G League pipeline – the gateway to the pros. This feeder system doesn’t just test their physical readiness but also pushes them to master the rulebook and apply it with precision. It’s why Monty McCutchen, the NBA’s head of officiating, proudly calls them “the best-trained women’s officials in the world.” But if you ask the W’s 2025 Coach of the Year, she might not agree!

And while Cathy Engelbert had already addressed the elephant in the room during All-Star Weekend in July, saying, “As we go forward on the officiating, we hear the concerns. We take that employee input… Every play is reviewed. We spend hours and hours and hours. Obviously, we us

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